The Independent

'Steer Your Own Course of Study'
May 28th 2005

Has work become a dull routine? Do you find yourself repeating the same tasks day after day? Have you forgotten the last time you learned something new at work? If so, you might be a prime candidate for a study-based career break. Growing numbers of people are taking time off work to study for personal development and to achieve career goals. It may not sound as romantic as travelling round the world, but there's no reason it should be any less exciting.

The options for career break study are incredibly diverse. If you want to gain a competitive edge at work, there are MBAs and vocational qualifications. For people who want to work while they travel, there are courses in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and instructor qualifications in skiing, snowboarding, sailing and scuba diving.

Of course, not everyone intends to return to the same job. Plenty of people study as a springboard to launch a new career. Adventure sports such as scuba diving, skiing, sailing and wind-surfing are famous second careers and with time and money, it's easy to train up from novice to professional instructor. "The majority of our career breakers are looking for a change of career," says Amanda Ribbins of Flying Fish, a leading provider of watersports instructor training. "What tends to happen is that people take a sabbatical and end up never going back."

Another popular study option for career breakers is a course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (Tefl). This easy to obtain qualification can open the door to paid teaching jobs in places as far flung as Aden and Addis Ababa.

The two main Tefl qualifications are the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), run by the University of Cambridge, and Trinity College London's Trinity CertTESOL. Tefl courses generally last four weeks but costs vary depending on where you study. A Tefl course in the UK will cost around £1,000, while the same course in Prague can cost as little as £750.

The largest providers of Tefl courses are international language schools and some offer a guaranteed job on graduation. Wages are modest but schools often pay travel costs and living expenses. Current hotspots for Tefl teaching include China, Japan and Eastern Europe.

"The world is open to anyone with a Tefl qualification," says Suzanne Furstner of Cactus Language, a company which acts as a central admissions service for Tefl courses around the world. "Even if you don't intend to work as a teacher when you come home, a year of Tefl will definitely add something to your CV."

Of course, studying doesn't always have to be about careers. As well as Tefl training, Cactus Language also offers residential language courses around the world, from Spanish courses in Barcelona to Russian courses in St Petersburg. You can study for a few weeks to brush up your pronunciation for travelling or devote a whole year to improving your employability overseas.

* Cactus TEFL (0845 130 4775; www.cactustefl.com) acts as an admissions service for TEFL courses worldwide. For information on residential language courses overseas, contact Cactus Language (0845 130 4775; www.cactuslanguage.com).

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